Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® is a program of the Association for Library Service to Children and Public Library Association, divisions of the American Library Association. Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library® is a registered trademark and is used with permission.

For more information visit: everychildreadytoread.org

At Winnipeg Public LibraryDiscover programs and resources to help build early literacy skills:• Join weekly sessions of Baby Rhyme Time,

Toddler Time and Family Story Time. These staff-led programs feature interactive stories, songs and rhymes to help your child get ready to read. Programs are developed using the American Library Association’s Every Child Ready to Read @ your library initiative.

• Borrow board books, picture books, and music to surround your child with language and learning. Check out the Pre-School Packs for a one-stop selection of books, music and information about early literacy.

• Visit the Family Literacy Playgrounds at many branches to have fun with playful activities that prompt the use of pre-reading skills essential for school readiness.

• Ask library staff for help selecting books that will appeal to your child.

• Drop by your local library branch to ask about getting a FREE library card today to use at all 20 branches - borrow anywhere, return anywhere!

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Programs and Resources to Help Build Early Literacy Skills

• Read together every day. Your child will learn that reading and spending time together is important.

• Make reading time a warm and happy experience. If your child loses interest, put the book away for another time.

• Point to objects in the book’s illustrations and encourage your child to describe what they see.

• Tell your child the names and sounds of letters and words you see everywhere: books, food packages, traffic signs, store signs.

• Show your child how useful print is in daily life: making a grocery list, reading a recipe, following an instruction manual or finding directions on a map.

Tips to Encourage Early Literacy SkillsEarly Literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write.Children prepare to read long before they enter school. In fact, early literacy skills begin to develop right from birth. A child’s positive early experiences with books and language lay the foundation for success in learning to read.There is so much you can do to help build reading readiness. Talk, sing, read, write and play with your child. Share books together every day and have fun reading!

Visit us online at winnipeg.ca/library or call 204-986-6488.

TALKChildren learn language and other early literacy skills by having lots of conversations with you! Whether your child is babbling or speaking words, the more you respond the more they will learn.

SINGSinging slows down language so children hear the different sounds that make up words. This helps when they begin to read printed language.

READ Reading together – shared reading – is the single most important way to help children get ready to read.

WRITE Reading and writing go together. Talking with your child about their scribbles and drawings helps them make the connection between spoken and printed language.

PLAYPlay helps children think symbolically when they use their imagination to pretend. This helps them understand that spoken and written words can stand for real objects and experiences.

Photo Credit: Ramona DonaldsonAll literacy playground puppies have been provided by Friends of Winnipeg Public LIbrary